The present invention relates to an orthopedic retractor.
Orthopedic retractors are commonly used to correct certain imbalances of the human foot, such as a Hallux Valgus (hyper-deviation of the big toe towards the outside) for example, or to prevent and relieve pain caused by a corn or a soft corn located at the bottom of the interdigital spaces. Thus, such retractors are inserted between the toes to be treated and enable the toes to be separated and spread open by a few millimeters.
Orthopedic retractors are generally made of silicone gel, for example a silicone gel marketed by Millet Innovation of Loriol Sur Drome, France, under the trademark Epithélium26®. They are very flexible, immediately comfortable and remain in place during the day, and they can be washed and reused.
The retractors generally have a shape which is imposed by the search for good morphological adaptation with the toes. Some have the shape of a marble, others have the shape of a tube, but the shape generally preferred is the shape referred to as “diabolo”.
A classic retractor 1 of diabolo type is represented respectively by a side view and a profile view in FIGS. 1A and 1B. It can be seen that the diabolo shape is substantially different from the shape of the toy of the same name. It resembles that of a curved cylinder, having a smaller mid-height diameter (but non zero) than at its two ends, which has then been flattened by crushing to have a thickness E (profile view in FIG. 1B) corresponding to the distance that is wished to be imposed on the toes to be treated, and a length L (side view in FIG. 1A) shorter than the length of the toes.
The retractor 1 is thus intended to be arranged between two toes in the direction of its thickness E, and it has, in the direction of its length, two external lateral faces 2,3 that are substantially concave and which receive the edges of the toes.
Such a retractor is generally produced by means of a mold, into which the gel is introduced in liquid phase and then is cross linked (polymerized) before being removed from the mold. This manufacturing method is, however, expensive due to the cost of the mold, the steps of introducing the non-cross-linked gel into the mold and the steps of removing from the mold. In particular, the mold must have two parts which are joined in a sealed manner and which are then separated to extract the retractor from the mold.
Another disadvantage of such a retractor is that its thickness E is not necessarily suitable for all morphologies of feet and distances of toes to be treated, such that it must be made available in various models, which further increases its cost and price.